FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a game apparatus, an image synthesizing method, and a data storage medium.
It has long been known to provide a games machine with an information storage device such as an EEPROM that retains information after power is turned off. With such a games machine, information that players and operators do not want to be lost when the machine is switched off is stored in the information storage device. This information includes high scores, the names of players who achieved these high scores, information that facilitates the setting of the games machine, and data-acquisition information.
However, the information stored in the information storage device of such a games machine does not have any effect on the game scene or on the game production in the prior art. Thus it can not greatly contribute to increasing the fascination of the game.
One kind of games machine that is well known is a combat type of games machine with which a player selects a game character (or moving body such as a tank) 230 or 232, as shown in FIG. 13A, and manipulates that game character 230 or 232 while viewing a game scene such as that shown in FIG. 13B to battle against other game characters. More than one player can play at the same time, so that two players can "fight" each other via this games machine. This kind of games machine is extremely popular because a player manipulating one of these game characters can begin to feel as if he or she is really in this scene, using these combative techniques.
Unfortunately, the numbers and/or types of game characters that players can select in this combat type of games machine are fixed, and the skills exhibited by these game characters are also fixed for each character. This means that it is not possible to further increase the fascination of such a game, and such a games machine is likely to become boring when it is installed at a site such as a games center for a long time, which leads to a problem in that its operation rate (the average number of time played that have been played for a given period of time) is likely to fall.